Safety device for firearms.



\ No. 849,387. A PATENTED APR. 9, 1901.

' o. H. HANSEN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS}.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17,1905.

' iinrrnn STATES PATIENT OFFIQF.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed April 17, 1905. Serial No. 255,962.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARL HENNING HAN- sEN, merchant, a subject ofDenmark, residing at No. 41 Hellerupvej, in Hellerup, near Copenhagen,Denmark, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Relating toSafety Devices for Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

There have already been a number of devices employed to prevent thecocked mechanism of a rifle, gun, or the like from prematurely acting onthe firing-pin when, for instance, the shooter moves or by aninvoluntary pressure on the trigger frees the hammer. These devices,which are usually arranged on the rear of the stock, all necessitate theperformance by the shooter of the action of changing the safetymechanism at the moment when the firearm is required for use, requiring,therefore, an effort of thought at the moment when his whole attentionis directed to the mark at which he is aiming. The frequent result isthat he forgets to effect the necessary change in the safety mechanism,and the favorable opportunity for a shot is lost. In consequence of thisthe majority of shooters prefer to dispense with. such safety devicesaltogether.

The present invention relates to a safety device which the shooterinvoluntarily operates without any effort of thought as soon as thefirearm is brought to the position for discharge, the member forshifting the safety device being fitted on the fore-end of the stock atthat part where the shooter is compelled to have his foremost hand inorder to be able to direct and steady the weapon, and the pressure withwhich the hand grips that particular portion of the firearm is renderedavailable for shifting the safety device.

' Several constructional forms of the invention are showndiagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside view of a part of a doublebarreled sporting-gun, showing thelocation of the presser-plate. Fig. 2 is the same view, partly insection, showing the inner parts of the device. Fig. 3 is a sectionalplan of the same constructional form. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of amodified form of construc tion. Fig. 5 shows a detail of Fig. 4, andFig. 6 is a sectional plan of a third form of construction.

A recess for the reception of a bell-crank lever is provided in thefore-end of the stock the heads of the firing-pins.

a. This lever is pivoted on a pin (1, Fig. 3, and one arm terminates ina roughened presser-plate b, which is situated nearly flush with thesurface of the fore-end of the stock at the point where the foremosthand grips the weapon when it is about to be fired. The other arm 0 ofthe lever will then be in its most retracted position. In the rearportion 6 of the stock, which carries the pivot of the barrels, a recessis formed for a sliding rod f, which is suitably retained and guided inthis recess. One end of this rod is situated directly in line with theend of the lever c and is adapted to be displaced by the movementthereof, while a helical spring 7c, secured to the front end of the rodby a screw, keeps the rod f in pressure contact with the end of thelever-arm c. The other end of the rod f makes contact'with the short arm9 of a bellcrank lever which is rigidly secured to one end of a spindleh, the other end of the spindle carrying a corresponding bell-cranklever i. The long arms of each of these bell-crank levers terminate in anose 3', each of which respectively normally engages beneath the head ofone of the two plungers or firing-pins Z, a stop-pin m being provided tosuitably limit the forward movement of this arm of the levers.

The various parts being in the position shown in the drawings a blow ofthe hammers on the firing-pins would not effect the discharge of thecartridges, as the firing-pins cannot be depressed, owing to the nosesy, as these engage beneath the heads of the pins. On the other hand,when the weapon is raised into the discharge position the pressure ofthe fingers of the foremost hand against the presser-plate b will havethe effect of moving the lever 0, thereby displacing the rod f againstthe pressure of the spring 7c, whereby the spindle of the bell-cranklevers g and i will be moved, and the noses j are displaced from thesituation beneath the heads of the firing-pins or are so shifted thatthe noses are situated in register with notches in On the descent of thehammer the firing-pin will then be able to move unhindered and the shotfired without the shooter having to think for a moment about freeing thesafety device. As soon as the foremost hand is removed or does not gripthe fore-end of the stock tightly the spring 7c will again bring thenoses j beneath the heads of the firing-pin and will move thepresser-plate b outward into the normal position in which it is flushwith the outer surface of the fore-end 0f the stock.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 4 the bell-crank lever isreplaced by an ordinary two-armed lever c, which is pivoted on a pin (1and of which one arm terminates in a press-plate b, correspondingexactly to that above described. The free end of a flat spring n,mounted in the fore-end a of the stock, presses against the free end ofthe lever 0, the other arm of the lever being connected to a plate 0,Fig, 5, pivoted in 6. This plate is provided with two fingers p, each ofwhich engages beneath the head of its respective firing-pin in a mannersimilar to that of the above-described noses when the lever c is underthe influence of the spring n only. In such positions the pins cannot bestruck downward if they are unintentionally subjected to the action ofthe hammers; but if the weapon is raised into the discharge position thepressure of the hand against the presser-plate b will cause the lever cto shift the plate 0 laterally, whereby the arms p will be moved awayfrom the firing-pins and free the same.

The form of construction shown in Fig. 6 differs only from that abovedescribed in the lever a being connected to a rod 7", which engages theheads of the firing pin when no pressure is exerted on the presser-plateb. As soon as the latter is actuated the rod 1" will be shiftedlaterally, so that the notches s in the rod 1' come into alinement withthe firing-pin, permitting the latter to move freely.

In firearms where the firing-pin moves in a loose breech-piece thedetaining device can be fitted between the breech-piece and the rear endof the cartridge and employed in a manner similar to that abovedescribed, so that, for example, when the firearm is in the dischargeposition and the presser is actuated a notch in the safety member ismoved in front of the firing-pin.

It is obvious that many variations of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the principle thereof.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is 1. In a firearm, the combination with the firing-pin, ofa safety device normally locking the firing-pin and having an exposedpart located onthe fore-end of the stock of the firearm, said exposedpart being movable at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the barrel torelease the firingpin.

2'. In a firearm, the combination with the firing-pin, of a safetydevice normally locking the firing-pin and provided with a press-platenormally flush with the outer surface of the firearm and arranged at thepoint usually grasped by the foremost hand of the operator when thefirearm is discharged.

3. In a firearm, the combination with the firing-pin, of a safety devicenormally locking the firing-pin and provided with a press-plate normallyflush with the outer surface of the firearm and arranged at the pointusually grasped by the foremost hand of the operator when the firearm isdischarged; said plate being movable inwardly to release the firingpin.

4. In a firearm, the combination with the firing-pin, of a safety devicenormally locking the firing-pin and provided with a press-plate normallyflush with the outer surface of the firearm and arranged at the pointusually grasped by the foremost hand of the operator when the firearm isdischarged; said plate being movable inwardly to disengage the safetydevice from the firing-pin, and means for returning the safety device toits normal position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL HENNING HANSEN.

Witnesses MAGNUS JENsEN, F. P. HARAEDTROIT.

